Christmas Day is just around the corner, and right after it is Christmas Eve. It also includes many traditions that our ancestors observed. Take a look at how, according to old customs and traditions, God’s feast should look like.
December is in full swing and Christmas Day is already knocking on the door. Gifts, sweets and a tree should have been procured a long time ago, now all that remains is to arm yourself with nerves of steel and handle the Christmas feast with the whole family calmly and without arguments. This is an incredibly difficult task for some, but it is important to remember that after that you will have the first holiday of Christmas. And that is a day worth waiting for. Christmas is a day of peace and relaxation, you don’t have to go to work, you don’t have to do anything, and you can just lie in bed all day and watch Christmas stories and movies. That’s how it looks on December 25th almost everywhere. But what did the feast of God look like for our ancestors?
A tradition for the first day of Christmas
Even for our ancestors, Christmas Eve was a day of rest and doing nothing. On this day, people did not go to work, meditated and enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere after a difficult December. Even not even the bed was madeas even making the bed was considered work that was expressly forbidden on December 25. There was no cleaning, washing or cleaning in the household.
In short, it was absolutely quiet on the first Christmas holiday. The Christmas atmosphere and family well-being were to be enjoyed, especially after a demanding Christmas feast. Even food should not be cooked properly, only heated. Most of the time, the traditional duck was just warming up or , which was prepared the day before. The goose or duck symbolized the festive meal and the end of fasting. Under normal circumstances, Advent was the season of Lent, and it was not until Christmas that one could really feast.
The only exception was , which was supposed to have magical power when it was baked on 25.12. As far as food is concerned, it is similar today, as there is always at least a few fried carp or schnitzels left over from the huge Christmas Eve dinner, so leftovers are usually reheated for the Christmas holidays. Maybe we have a lot more in common with our ancestors than we thought.
A shot to the moon, a chicken and the wind
Even though no work was supposed to be done on Christmas Eve and only rest was to be done, traditions that were supposed to bring happiness were also fulfilled. One of them included, for example, a shot from a rifle towards the moon. This drove away evil forces and negative energies. If the hens laid eggs on this day, it was considered a good sign. Our ancestors also observed the wind on the first day of Christmas and predicted from it according to which direction it was blowing. When a famine came from the east, a war would come, from the west a pestilence, from the north a famine, and from the south a good and successful year.
